Lunch Hour 2023

Lunch Hour with Dr. Omar Reda and Dr. Aarif Rassiwalla
August 17, 2023 12:00pm
Recording Available to Resilient PA Members

Omar Reda, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist, a Harvard-trained trauma expert, and a passionate family advocate. Most importantly, Omar is a dreamer and strong believer in the potential of finding beauty in all human encounters.

He is a highly sought-after dynamic public speaker and author of many publications including  The Wounded Healer: The Pain and Joy of Caregiving and UNTANGLED: A Go-To Empowerment Guide for Parents and Caregivers of Traumatized Children.

He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and three daughters.

Aarif Rassiwalla, MD, is a medical professional dedicated to addressing physician burnout and promoting resilience in healthcare providers.  Dr. Rassiwalla obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and medical doctorate from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.  He chose to return to Pennsylvania to complete his residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and remained to begin his hospitalist career serving the under-resourced North Philadelphia community at Temple University Hospital.  Dr. Rassiwalla has focused his training at Safety-Net hospitals and nonprofit institutions in order to provide care to primarily underserved, low income, and uninsured communities.  These environments in turn place a much greater physical and emotional burden on the healthcare personnel themselves due to significant resource limitations and obstacles to care.  During the pandemic, Dr. Rassiwalla treated hundreds of COVID-19 patients as a frontline physician.  Additionally, he held an executive leadership role overseeing capacity strain and supervising teams of outpatient and/or non-internal medicine trained physicians that were called to serve for much needed extra staffing.  Dr. Rassiwalla’s lived experiences including his own struggles both before and during the pandemic have fortified his advocacy efforts on promoting the well-being of all healthcare providers.

Lunch Hour with Father Paul Abernathy and Prabha Sankaranarayan
July 31, 2023 12:00pm
Recording Available for Resilient PA Members

Father Paul Abernathy is an Orthodox Christian priest and the founding CEO of the Neighborhood Resilience Project. Since 2011, Fr. Paul has labored with his community to address Community Trauma with Trauma Informed Community Development; A framework that facilitates the transformation of trauma affected communities to resilient, healing and healthy communities so that people can be healthy enough to sustain opportunities and realize their potential. Under Fr. Paul’s leadership, innovative trauma-informed grass-roots strategies have been developed and implemented to address acute, historical, transgenerational and complex trauma on a community level. In addition to programming, millions of dollars in various kinds of support have also been distributed to the Greater Pittsburgh Area with his direction. Community groups from across the nation have worked with Fr. Paul to be trained in the Trauma-Informed Community Development framework.

He has a B.A. in International Studies from Wheeling Jesuit University, and holds a Master in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. He also holds a Master of Divinity from St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and was selected for Harvard Business School’s Young American Leaders Program. A former Non-Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army, Father Paul is also a combat veteran of the Iraq War.

In addition to his work with the organization, Fr. Paul is and has been a member of multiple community, state, and national boards and has received numerous community awards.

Fr. Paul is the pastor of St. Moses the Black Orthodox Church, an author, and a husband and father of two children.

Prabha Sankaranarayan is the President and CEO of Mediators Beyond Borders International, an international impact organization whose mission is to build local skills for peace and promote mediation worldwide. She is committed to partnership, as evidenced by the organization’s collaboration with over 130 organizations globally. She co/leads MBBI’s recent partnership with Rotary International, a global network of 1.2 million members, with NAFCM, a North American network of over 300 mediation centers and the recently formed TRUST Network the first Early Warning and Response platform in the USA.

She is a conflict transformation practitioner who has mediated, facilitated and trained in Europe, Asia, Africa and the USA.  Her public and private sector work includes conflict analysis for public/private partnerships, consultation & assessment for industrial development zones, design and implementation of trainings for multinational corporations; inter faith dialogues as well as facilitation of multi-stakeholder mediations.

Lunch Hour with Linda Thai, LMSW
June 20, 2023 12:00pm
Recording Available for Resilient PA Members

Linda Thai (she/her), LMSW, is a trauma therapist, educator and consultant who specializes in cutting edge brain- and body-based modalities and incorporates consideration of issues pertaining to the impact of oppressive systems upon identity, mental health and wellbeing, and the invisibilized wounds of racial trauma and attachment trauma. Born in Vietnam, raised in Australia, and now living in Alaska, Linda is a former child refugee who is not only redefining what it means to be Vietnamese, to be Australian, and to be a United States-ian, she is redefining what it means to be wounded, whole, and a healer. Linda is passionate about breaking the cycle of historical and intergenerational trauma at the individual and community levels and deeply believes in the healing power of coming together in community to share stories, to sing, and to grieve.

Lunch Hour with Steve Silberman, Eric Garcia, and Representative Benham
April 28, 2023 12:00pm
Recording Available for Resilient PA Members

Steve Silberman is an award-winning science writer whose articles have appeared in Wired, the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Financial Times, the Boston Globe, the MIT Technology Review, Nature, Salon, Shambhala Sun, and many other publications. He is the author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity (Avery 2015), which Oliver Sacks called a “sweeping and penetrating history…presented with a rare sympathy and sensitivity.” The book became a widely-praised bestseller in the United States and the United Kingdom, and won the 2015 Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction, a California Book Award, and a Books for a Better Life award. It was chosen as one of the Best Books of 2015 by The New York Times, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Boston Globe, The Independent, and many other publications, and is being translated into 15 languages.

Eric is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist focused on politics and policy and is currently the senior Washington correspondent for The Independent. His first book We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation, which the Washington Post called “outstanding,” was published August 3, 2021. He previously worked as an editor at the Washington Post and the Hill and as a reporter at Roll Call, National Journal and MarketWatch. His work has also been featured in The New Republic, The Daily Beast, Salon.com and Spectrum.

Representative Benham took office on a platform of fighting for the interests of residents in the 36th Legislative District and solving the critical problems that her constituents face: lack of access to quality health care and to economic opportunity, poor air and water quality, and failing infrastructure. Benham’s background is in advocacy for health care, education and worker’s rights, with experience advocating for legislation on the federal, state and local levels. Prior to holding public office, Benham was Director of Development for the Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy (PCAA), a grassroots self-advocacy project run by Autistic people for Autistic people. She co-founded PCAA after moving back to college, and it remains the only LGBTQ Autistic-led advocacy organization in the Greater Pittsburgh Area. Through her work with PCAA, Benham has worked to ensure that individuals with disabilities are treated fairly in the legislative process.

Lunch Hour with Fritzi Horstman
March 3rd 12:00pm
Recording Available for Resilient PA Members

Join us this March as we host Fritzi Horstman on the HEAL PA Lunch Hour. Fritzi is the Founder and Executive Director of Compassion Prison Project. She is a Grammy-award winning producer for her work on “The Defiant Ones”, has been a producer and post-producer on dozens of television projects and documentaries and has directed several films. She believes it is urgent to bring humanity and compassion to those living behind bars and these acts will help transform our society. Fritzi is well known for her short film “Step Inside the Circle”, which examines the pervasiveness of childhood trauma, one of the key factors behind America’s high levels of incarceration.

Joining us on our panel will be Rob Reed, Deputy Attorney General for Pennsylvania, and our good friends James Fox and Josefin Wikstrom from the Prison Yoga Project. Our Lunch Hour will begin with a short mindfulness session led by the Prison Yoga Project. We will then move into a robust discussion on how we can promote trauma informed criminal justice systems at both the local and state levels. 

Lunch Hour with Deran Young, LCSW
February 16th 12:00pm
Recording Available to Resilient PA Members

This February, HEAL PA invites you to join us in our Trauma Informed Lunch Hour honoring Black History Month through a rich discussion about the complex relationship between intergenerational trauma and the stigmatization of mental health. 

We will be joined by renowned expert and author, Deran Young. Deran is the Founder and CEO of Black Therapists Rock, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes over 30,000 mental health professionals committed to reducing the psychological impact of systemic oppression and intergenerational trauma.

She obtained her social work degree from University of Texas, where she studied abroad in Ghana, West Africa for two semesters creating a high school counseling center for under-resourced students. Deran has visited over 37 different countries and her clinical experience spans across four different continents. Her passion for culture and people has led her to become a highly sought after diversity and inclusion consultant working with companies like BBERG, Facebook, Linked In, and YWCA. She resides in the Washington DC area with her 10 year old son.

Lunch Hour with Frank Anderson, MD
January 23rd
Recording Available for Resilient PA Members

In January we hosted Dr. Frank Anderson, author of Transcending Trauma, to discuss Internal Family Systems Therapy. IFS is an evidence-based practice that is used to treat anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance abuse, and eating disorders. Our discussion will consider the systemic trauma that can lead to these issues for different vulnerable populations, including those who identify is LGBTQIA+ and consider how this type of therapeutic approach can encourage healing in our communities.

Frank Anderson, MD, completed his residency and was a clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is both a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He specializes in the treatment of trauma and dissociation and is passionate about teaching brain-based psychotherapy and integrating current neuroscience knowledge with the IFS model of therapy.

Dr. Anderson is a Lead Trainer at the IFS Institute with Richard Schwartz and maintains a long affiliation with, and trains for, Bessel van der Kolk’s Trauma Center. He serves as an advisor to the International Association of Trauma Professionals (IATP) and was the former chair and director of the Foundation for Self Leadership.

Dr. Anderson has lectured extensively on the Neurobiology of PTSD and Dissociation and wrote the chapter “Who’s Taking What” Connecting Neuroscience, Psychopharmacology and Internal Family Systems for Trauma in Internal Family Systems Therapy-New Dimensions. He co-authored a chapter on “What IFS Brings to Trauma Treatment in Innovations and Elaborations in Internal Family Systems Therapy” and recently co-authored Internal Family Systems Skills Training Manual.

His most recent book, entitled “Transcending Trauma: Healing Complex PTSD with Internal Family Systems” was released on May 19, 2021.

Dr. Anderson maintains a private practice in Concord, MA.

www.FrankAndersonMD.com

Lunch Hour with Gabor Maté, M.D.
December 7th
Recording Available for Resilient PA Members

Gabor Maté (pronunciation: GAH-bor MAH-tay) is a retired physician who, after 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. The bestselling author of four books published in thirty languages, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, Gabor is an internationally renowned speaker highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness.  For his groundbreaking medical work and writing he has been awarded the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian distinction, and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver. His fifth book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture was released on September 13, 2022. To learn more, join his e-news list at www.drgabormate.com.

The Myth of Normal
Available on Amazon

By the acclaimed author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, a groundbreaking investigation into the causes of illness, a bracing critique of how our society breeds disease, and a pathway to health and healing.

In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?

Over four decades of clinical experience, Maté has come to recognize the prevailing understanding of “normal” as false, neglecting the roles that trauma and stress, and the pressures of modern-day living, exert on our bodies and our minds at the expense of good health. For all our expertise and technological sophistication, Western medicine often fails to treat the whole person, ignoring how today’s culture stresses the body, burdens the immune system, and undermines emotional balance. Now Maté brings his perspective to the great untangling of common myths about what makes us sick, connects the dots between the maladies of individuals and the declining soundness of society—and offers a compassionate guide for health and healing. Cowritten with his son Daniel, The Myth Of Normal is Maté’s most ambitious and urgent book yet.

Lunch Hour with Bruce Perry, M.D., Ph.D.
November 30th
Recording Available for Resilient PA Members

Dr. Perry is the Principal of the Neurosequential Network, Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy and a Professor (Adjunct) in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and the School of Allied Health, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria Australia.

Over the last thirty years, Dr. Perry has been an active teacher, clinician and researcher in children’s mental health and the neurosciences holding a variety of academic positions. His work on the impact of abuse, neglect and trauma on the developing brain has impacted clinical practice, programs and policy across the world. Dr. Perry is the author, with Maia Szalavitz, of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, a bestselling book based on his work with maltreated children and Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered. Dr. Perry’s most recent book, What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, co-authored with Oprah Winfrey, was released
in 2021.

Dr. Perry was on the faculty of the Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry at the University of Chicago School of Medicine from 1988 to 1991. From 1992 to 2001, Dr. Perry served as the Trammell Research Professor of Child Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. During this time, Dr. Perry was also Chief of Psychiatry for Texas Children’s Hospital and Vice-Chairman for Research within the Department of Psychiatry. From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Perry served as the Medical Director for Provincial Programs in Children’s Mental Health for the Alberta Mental Health Board. He continues to consult with the government of Alberta on children’s issues and serves as a founding member of the Premier’s Council of Alberta’s Promise.

Dr. Perry has conducted both basic neuroscience and clinical research. His neuroscience research has examined the effects of prenatal drug exposure on brain development, the neurobiology of human neuropsychiatric disorders, the neurophysiology of traumatic life events and basic mechanisms related to the development of neurotransmitter receptors in the brain. His clinical research and practice has focused on high-risk children. This work has examined the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social, and physiological effects of neglect and trauma in children, adolescents and adults. This work has been instrumental in describing how childhood experiences, including neglect and traumatic stress, change the biology of the brain – and, thereby, the health of the child.

His clinical research over the last twenty years has been focused on integrating emerging principles of developmental neuroscience into clinical practice. This work has resulted in the development of innovative clinical practices and programs working with maltreated and traumatized children, most prominently the Neurosequential Model©, a developmentally sensitive, neurobiology-informed approach to clinical work (NMT), education (NME) and caregiving (NMC). This approach to clinical problem solving has been integrated into programs at dozens of large public and non-profit organizations serving at-risk children and their families.

His experience as a clinician and a researcher with traumatized children has led many community and governmental agencies to consult Dr. Perry following high-profile incidents involving traumatized children and youth including the Branch Davidian siege in Waco (1993), the Oklahoma City bombing (1995), the Columbine school shootings (1999), the September 11th terrorist attacks (2001), Hurricane Katrina (2005), the FLDS polygamist sect (2008), the earthquake in Haiti (2010), the tsunami in Tohoku Japan (2011), the Sandy Hook Elementary school shootings (2012), and the Camp wildfire in California (2018) among many others.

Dr. Perry has published over 500 journal articles, book chapters and scientific proceedings and is the recipient of numerous professional awards and honors, including the T. Berry Brazelton Infant Mental Health Advocacy Award, the Award for Leadership in Public Child Welfare, the Alberta Centennial Medal and the 2014 Kohl Education Prize. He serves on the Board of Directors of multiple organizations including Prevent Child Abuse America and the Ana Grace Project.

He has presented about child maltreatment, children’s mental health, neurodevelopment and youth violence in a variety of venues including policy-making bodies such as the White House Summit on Violence, the California Assembly and U.S. House Committee on Education. Dr. Perry has been featured in a wide range of media including 60 Minutes, National Public Radio, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC and CBS News and the Oprah Winfrey Show. His work has been featured in documentaries produced by Dateline NBC, 20/20, the BBC, Nightline, CBC, PBS, as well as dozen international documentaries. Many print media have highlighted the clinical and research activities of Dr. Perry including a Pulitzer-prize winning series in the Chicago Tribune, The Sun Magazine, US News and World Report, Time, Newsweek, Forbes
ASAP, Washington Post, the New York Times and Rolling Stone.

Dr. Perry, a native of Bismarck, North Dakota, was an undergraduate at Stanford University and Amherst College. He attended medical and graduate school at Northwestern University, receiving both M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. Dr. Perry completed a residency in general psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at The University of Chicago.

Lunch Hour with Sandra Bloom, M.D.
October 13th
Recording Available for Resilient PA Members

Dr. Sandra L. Bloom is a Board-Certified psychiatrist, graduate of Temple University School of Medicine and currently Associate Professor, Health Management and Policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University. For the past thirty years, Dr. Bloom has done pioneering work in the field of traumatic stress studies and is a past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Dr. Bloom originated and has written three books about the Sanctuary Model and in 2020 introduced a new, online organizational approach called Creating Presence (https://www.creatingpresence.net). Dr. Bloom is currently chairing a national organization, CTIPP – The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice whose goal is to advocate for public policies and programs at the federal, state, local and tribal levels that incorporate up-to-date scientific findings regarding the relationship between trauma across the lifespan and many social and health problems.

Lunch Hour with Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
September 27th
Recording Available for Resilient PA Members

Bessel A. van der Kolk M.D. is a pioneer clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of posttraumatic stress. His #1 New York Times Science best seller, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Treatment of Trauma (translated in 38 languages), transforms our understanding of traumatic stress.

He has published over 150 peer reviewed scientific articles and is the founder of the Trauma Center (now the Trauma Research Foundation) in Boston, MA; past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Medical School and Principal Investigator Boston site of MAPS sponsored MDMA assisted psychotherapy study. He regularly teaches at universities and hospitals around the world. Visit besselvanderkolk.com for more information.